10 Botanical Gardens to Explore in Munster

Bantry House and Garden is a stately home in southwest Ireland situated right on Bantry Bay with panoramic views of the bay and the caha mountains. The gardens contain seven terraces; the house is located on the third. One hundred steps are located behind the house and fountain, and are surrounded by azaleas and rhododendron.

Cappoquin House is an 18th century Georgian mansion built on the site of an old Fitzgerald castle with a large south facing hillside garden. The gardens are not wheelchair friendly being on a slope. 5 acres, south facing on acid soil. Wide range of interesting herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees.

Carey's Castle, is an absolutely charming and picturesque 18th century structure situated in a glen beside the Glenary River in a scenic woodlands near Clonmel. There is a small lawn with picnic site close to the car park. A walk of about 500m takes you to Carey’s Castle, through mixed woodland and there is a pleasant walking path along the river bank for about 600m.

Lismore Castle Gardens are situated on the outskirts of Lismore town, Spread over seven acres, the historic gardens at Lismore Castle in County Waterford are divided into two very distinct and different halves. The Upper Garden is a complete example of the 17th-century walled garden first constructed here by Richard Boyle, the First Earl of Cork, in about 1605. The Gardens are open 7 days a week from 10.30 am – 5.30 pm.

This is a woodland garden that has a selection of narrow paths leading to the sea. You can choose a short stroll of about 40 minutes or take all day discovering the 8 miles of paths. Throughout the garden a rich patina of moss, lichens ferns and saxifrages gives a sub-tropical feel to the whole area. As a foil to the luxuriant plantings, there are great natural outcrops of rocks. The garden is open to the public every day all year round.

This 3.5 acre walled artists garden and 3 acre woodland garden laid out between the ruins of a former woollen mill, is situated on the River Dawn. Unusual plants, trees and special water features. Featured in books, magazines and on television. Stones from former buildings have been recycled into walls, raised borders, obelisks and magic standing stones.

This beautiful three-acre garden is full of surprises with amazing designs and fun for all the family with over ten unique gardens designs, including; Japanese, Chinese and Sunken White Gardens and a fairy woods. A wander over the birch mound leads to the walled kitchen garden. The kids will have great fun visiting the Hobbit House built right through the birch mound, searching for the fairy houses in the fairy woods, and playing with the Pygmy Goats and Birds.

The Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens are set in the beautiful seaside town of Tramore, County Waterford, Ireland. These gardens are a living biography of the Greek/Irish writer Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, who was born in 1850 and died in 1904. There is also an American Garden, a Greek Garden and a traditional Japanese Tea Garden, in total there are eleven unique garden areas that reference much of his folklore and fairytale.

Mount Congreve is an 18th-century Georgian estate and mansion situated near the village of Kilmeaden in County Waterford, Ireland. The gardens at Mount Congreve, Waterford, consist of around seventy acres of intensively planted woodland garden and a four acre walled garden. is internationally recognised for its rare species of plants and also its plant nurseries. The gardens are open to the public each Thursday to Sunday.

Tourin Gardens and woodland, created by countless generations since the tower house was first built in 1560 extends over 15 acres to the banks of the Blackwater river. Fine collections of trees, shrubs and plants give colourful displays at all times of the year. The gardens at Tourin House extend over 2 hectares and include a walled garden. A fine collection of camellias, rhododendrons, magnolias and other shrubs give a beautiful seasonal display of colour.